Madrid: A huge voter turnout in the Spanish general elections has voted out the ruling Conservative party in the wake of the Madrid train bombings.

"This is a victory for the Spanish people, a victory for democracy," Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, head of the victorious Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), said yesterday (Mar 14, 2004) amid scenes of euphoria at party headquarters.

He said a massive proportion of Spaniards "have said they want a government of change".

Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the PSOE had obtained 43.01 percent of the vote and won 164 seats in the 350-member Chamber of Deputies.

The ruling conservative Popular Party (PP), which was predicted to prevail a week ago, won only 148 seats, with 37.47 percent of the vote.

"I sincerely congratulate the Socialist Party for their win," Government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said in conceding defeat.

Zapatero, still rejoicing at his party headquarters, said he wanted to call a minute's silence for "the broken lives" as a result of Thursday's train massacre and pledged that combating terrorism would be a top priority for the new Government.

Acebes said more than 77 percent of the electorate turned out to vote, a high response reflecting the emotions caused by the deadly train blasts.

The PP of outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar apparently took a pasting because of its support for the United States in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Only a week ago, four public opinion polls predicted the Popular Party would win with a reduced majority.

But the bombings and a claim attributed to al-Qaeda that they were revenge for Spain's support of American policy in Iraq touched off a wave of anger against the Government.

Small groups of detractors booed Aznar and his chosen successor, Mariano Rajoy, when they voted in separate Madrid polling stations, with some yelling "manipulator" and "you fascists are the terrorists"

Up to 90 percent of the population was against the Iraq war and occupation, to which Aznar has contributed 1,300 troops.

The elections came three days after a series of bomb blasts on four Madrid commuter trains, in which 1,500 people were wounded, provoked high emotions among many voters against the Government.

Aznar was stepping down after two terms as Prime Minister having handed over the PP reins to Rajoy.

The outgoing Government had laid most suspicion for the attacks on the Basque separatist group ETA, which denied responsibility. But in the hours before the election attention swung to possible al-Qaeda involvement after a video was discovered claiming the atrocity in the Islamic group's name.